Endangered Animal Central: Tigers

Today, two books on tigers read, and data gathered.

Tigers
Tigers are the largest of all cats, and the strongest. However, they are also the most endangered, and are in the biggest trouble of going extinct. In fact, only 4 subspecies remain of tiger, the Bengal Tiger being the most plentiful, and at least 3 subspecies have already gone extinct of the Tiger.
Tigers share some similarities with other cats. They're all-out carnivores, eating only meat. They're predators... one of the most famous! They have territories, which they mark by scratching, peeing, or rubbing themselves on trees and such to leave their scent. These territories are sometimes shared by a female's territories... sometimes even more than one! The cubs are born and raised in dens.
Tigers live in forest areas in certain parts of Russia, Asia, China, and an island off Asia's coast. Their black-striped orange coat helps them blend into the woods, especially during dawn and dusk, when these cats do most of their hunting. Their retractable claws, good eyesight, and great hearing help them hunt their food, which goes from different kinds of deer (the sambar deer being a fave) to even elephants, buffalo, and rhinos! Their primary hunting technique is to stalk their prey, then jump and kill. Techniques differ for each size of animal, especially killing. 1/20 of their hunting tries even work.
But once the tiger's got a meal, he or she eats. The only part not really eaten is the stomach and intestines... the parts with waste and possible partly-digested gunk. Tigers eat a ton... they have to in order to keep their strength up. Despite being the weight of around 4 or 5 men, they have a strength of about 30 men. Scary, isn't it? In fact, they use this bulk not just for killing, but dragging their food away to a safe place to eat.
Which leads us to territories. Tigers are solitary creatures. The only time tigers are together are mating time, and when Momma is raising cubs. Sometimes a tiger that's on good terms with another tiger visits their "friend's" territory. But each Tiger has a home range... only the resident tigers are allowed in the home range. Tigers don't allow their own sex to intrude on the territory, but the opposite sex is allowed. Young Tigers sometimes take over a territory.
Tiger cubs are partial to predators. They stay with Momma for about 2 years before leaving or getting thrown off. Momma does her best to protect, take care of, and teach the cubs. Each litter is around 1-5 cubs. Momma is very protective of her cubs... humans have been killed because they've wandered too close to the den! Only about 1 in every 2 Tigers reach adulthood, though.
Tigers don't always eat all of their meal. They hide the leftovers. Sometimes they get back to it, other times it's been stolen.
Tigers can swim, like the Jaguar. However, Tigers like swimming! They enjoy being in water and even play in the water! If they're hunting in water, they usually have a better chance.
Tigers are the top of the food chain, but they do have dangers. Wild dog packs are one thing. Other Tigers are another. The dangers is bigger when cub-age.
But the biggest threat is none other than us humans. Now, some of it is the usual cat-hunting reasons: fur and taking away forests for our purposes. The disappearing forests mean less prey, which means hungry Tiger... which is bad news. While a Tiger can go days without eating, usually after a hearty meal, when they're hungry, it's BAD NEWS, all capitols! Hungry Tigers have been known to kill humans, and once they've killed one human, they usually go after another. This frightens people, which leads to more killing of Tigers. Tigers have not usually been man's friend since the early days, however... a good deal of ancient civilizations considered them evil! There are some exceptions, but you get the idea. Another reason for hunting tigers is that their parts are considered magical in areas like China, and that they have healing properties. While Tiger-hunting is now illegal in many places, the hunt still goes on... even for things like sport!
This has made the Tiger an endangered animal. But this one's really deeply in trouble! The rare White Bengal Tiger (color caused by rare white gene) is probably extinct, except for some in zoos. In fact, all White Bengal Tigers in zoos can be traced to one ancestor (cool, huh?). Their chances of going extinct are very, very high...! Programs to help the Tigers have been made, however.